The CEO of Siemens Corporation USA, the American unit of German industrial and engineering giant Siemens AG, says if TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline is approved it will “unleash” a string of related major capital investments south of the border, while boosting U.S. exports.

Eric Spiegel, who was in Edmonton earlier this week to help unveil the company’s new Calgary-based Canadian energy headquarters, says the proposed pipeline – which would deliver 830,000 barrels of crude a day from Alberta’s oilsands and North Dakota’s Bakken play to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast – will also help President Barack Obama to achieve his stated goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015.

“One of the big issues for the U.S. and for North America in general is to get beyond these fiscal issues. A lot of companies have billions of dollars worth of projects waiting to move forward, with Keystone being one of them,” Spiegel says.

“There are a lot of them, not just in the energy sector, waiting for this to be unlocked. So we’re hoping the U.S. and the Canadian government can get together on the pipeline. It will be a key water mark for economic development, not just for energy development.”

Although Spiegel didn’t offer specifics, he says multiple industrial projects would proceed if Keystone XL is approved, creating a significant number of new jobs all along the pipeline corridor.

“That project (Keystone XL) getting approved I think will unleash a whole chain of events. The pipeline will have a lot of knock-on effects in terms of smaller pipelines, other energy projects, and other capital investments. All along the pipeline pathway we’re going to see economic development. So I think the multiplier effect of the pipeline will be great.”

Since the Alberta bitumen shipped on Keystone XL would supply the massive refinery complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast – the largest in the world – thus boosting U.S. exports of refined petroleum products such as gasoline and jet fuel, Spiegel says the project would also serve President Obama’s export growth strategy.

“Just getting it approved is going to send a message that we’re moving forward on energy in North America together. The president has an objective to double exports (by 2015) and he’s halfway there. So I think that would be a good thing.”

As CEO of Siemens’ U.S. operations, Spiegel oversees a company with $22 billion US in annual sales, $5 billion in exports and more than 60,000 employees across the U.S.

Siemens’ sprawling corporate footprint encompasses a wide range of sectors, including clean technology, infrastructure, energy, automation, manufacturing and health care. The company has roughly 130 U.S. manufacturing plants in all 50 U.S. states.

“We’ve been very supportive of Keystone and we’ll be doing work on the pipeline, supplying advanced motors for energy efficiency and things like that. For us we see it as a growth vehicle for our business in Canada and the U.S.,” he says.

“There’s a big price differential right now between (various grades of oil) because of the bottlenecks. By moving crude from Canada and the Bakken, we see it as a key to unlocking that bottleneck, driving more growth and development. So we think it will be good for both the U.S. and Canadian economies.”

Asked whether he expects Obama to ultimately approve the Keystone XL project, in the face of stiff opposition from environmental groups, Spiegel offers a carefully qualified yes: “Well, the State Department came out with their report, and it seemed to indicate there were no big issues in there.”

James Slutz, who served as Assistant Secretary of Energy under former U.S. President George W. Bush, also sees Keystone XL as a critical driver of U.S. jobs and export growth.

“With those U.S. refineries that process heavy crude it makes perfect sense to use them to the highest capacity. And to the extent that those refined products are exported, those are manufactured goods being exported,” says Slutz, who is now president and managing director of Washington, D.C.-based Global Energy Strategies LLC.

“In every country you applaud the opportunity to export manufactured goods. So it’s a key point to understand that a refined petroleum product is a manufactured good. For some reason that distinction often gets lost.”

Slutz was in Vancouver last week to attend the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s Pacific Energy Summit, where he presented a paper on the history of energy trade between Canada and the U.S. Although he says he has no insights into whether the Obama administration will okay Keystone XL, Slutz says there is a “growing appreciation” in the U.S. that the pipeline is in the country’s economic self-interest.

While Keystone XL is strenuously opposed by environmental activists, who point to the risks of pipeline leaks such as a recent spill in Arkansas, Slutz says pipelines remain the safest way to transport crude.

“The other thing which I think is very important is that it’s in the interests of the U.S.-Canada relationship, which I would argue has been the most successful international trading relationship in the world, and we should honour that,” he says.

“That doesn’t mean that we don’t subject new projects to strict environmental standards, but it’s hard to argue that the Keystone XL pipleine hasn’t been subject to strict reviews. And if you look historically, pipelines are the safest way to move both refined products and crude oil.”

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